


What Do You See

by TG_Esmeralda



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2020-12-09 07:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20990942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TG_Esmeralda/pseuds/TG_Esmeralda
Summary: She is a medical student who has a secret habit of gambling. Her game is science and statistics, and she takes home the money every night she's in the casino. Being a full time student at a prestigious university with no source of financial support had her using her talent in the most profitable way. She hasn't been caught so far, and she's hoping that luck stays in her favor.





	1. Chapter 1

** Prologue **

A jack of hearts and a five of hearts. Her hand was nothing special in the game of Texas Hold'em but she knew how to play her cards right.

Looking around the table she took note of the people playing and their faces, their expressions in particular. As the dealer starts turning over the initial three cards she discreetly takes note of the body language displayed by the players now.

The man to her right had a hand over his pile of chips. He was playing with them by picking some from the top and letting them fall back into place. After he got his cards and peaked at them he stopped playing with the chips and drew his hand closer to him. His other hand that had not been doing anything before now also moved towards his chest until he crossed his fingers, and then his thumbs started caressing his hands.

His actions register as self-comforting. That lets her know that he is trying to reassure himself of his decision. With that in mind she doesn't worry about him in the game. Soon comes his action and he folds.

With him out of the game she goes onto looking at the others, after her quick sweep she raises. The cards drawn by the dealer were not too bad, and the remaining cards to be drawn could be in her favor. Currently there was a four of hearts, queen of clubs, and a king of diamonds on the table. Two people call her and one of them raises.

The next round is about to begin and she is ready to make some money tonight.

By the end of the night she was seven thousand dollars heavier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

It's now Monday morning and she has to go to school. Luckily today her first class starts at eleven thirty and the alarm clock read that it's nine forty.

After spending last night and early morning at the casino, and after getting home around two, she was grateful for the extra hours of sleep that she wouldn't usually have on an average school day.

It was on her way to the bathroom that she decides to get herself some pancakes for breakfast, as a treat for her win at the casino.

After her quick shower, she gets dressed in some blue jeans, black boots, and an olive green oversized sweater over a gray thin tee shirt. Quickly drying her hair and applying some lotion and chap stick she heads for the door. Grabbing her school bag and keys she was out of the door with her wall clock reading ten.

Once she got to her car she cranked up the heating. The weather was transitioning from fall to winter and that meant that her fall semester was almost up.  
_____

Currently on her way to campus, she stops by the diner that she's been going to since she arrived to this town. It was conveniently on her way to campus, and it was quaint enough that she could go in and read without being disturbed.

Stepping into the diner she was enveloped in warmth. One of the ladies who works as a waitress and host sees her and starts to walk towards her.

"Hey sweetie, would you like your usual?" asked the waitress.

"Good morning Ayame, yes the usual please,” she responds with a smile, “how's that web-site set up coming along?" she asked.

"The site has just gone up, but there seems to be no traffic flow yet" answered Ayame.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure people will find it soon enough, and then you'll be getting tons of orders!" answered the young woman.

Ayame gave the girl a smile and replied with, "let me get your coffee" before she started to walk away.

Looking out the window to her left she was able to see where she parked and who was coming into the diner. Taking a closer look at the sky she saw that the clouds headed towards her looked especially dark. She hoped that it wouldn't rain today. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice when Ayame walked to her table and only just noticed the woman when she set the cup of coffee down.

"I'll be back in a little bit with your order" Ayame said with a brief smile before heading to the front of the diner where a couple just walked in.

Looking at the couple she could see that they were genuinely happy with each other.

Turning away from the couple and looking at the empty seat across from her she couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Before long she was lost in her thoughts of how it would be like if she had a boyfriend. Thinking of getting a boyfriend and spending time with someone who she could act physically affectionate to also brought up memories of her last boyfriend, and that left a sour taste in her mouth.

Quickly dispelling the thought of needing a guy in her life, she saw Ayame make her way to her table. She sat down her meal and cutlery and asked if she needed anything else, to which she answered no. Before Ayame left she made sure to give her thanks.

Looking at the spread in front of her she took a deep inhale of the heavenly food. She had a cup of black coffee, a stack of pancakes on one plate, and on the other plate she had toast, sausage, and eggs sunny side up.

By the time she finished eating the clock in the diner read ten forty. Getting up she headed to the counter. There Ayame was re-stalking, but stopped after she saw her heading towards the register.

"All done sweetie?" Ayame asked kindly.

"Yes" the girl replied. She took out her money for the meal and handed it to her.

"Thank you Ayame, and you can keep the change" said the girl before she turned around and left the diner.  
____

When she got to campus it was eleven ten, which gave her more than enough time to get to her first class. Making her way to class she noticed some of the trees were almost completely bare. The wind was getting harsher and the temperature colder. She would have to start wearing scarves and gloves soon.

Once she arrived to class she saw that there were already some students. She sat in her self appointed seat which was in the front row. Getting settled in she started to take out her class materials, and decided to look over the notes she took last class as she waited.

The time was eleven twenty-five and almost all thirty students were in the class. At eleven thirty on the dot her professor came in.

Professor Tsunade's honors class was said to be the toughest. But if you got the highest grade in her class then you were allowed an apprenticeship with her in her hospital.

Currently she holds the top grade, and is determined to keep it.

The class went on and whenever the professor asked the students questions she would always have her hand up. When class was over and everyone started leaving with their new assignments, she went up to talk to her professor.

"Professor Tsunade is the exam on Thursday going to cover chapter twelve?" she asked.

"Yes, but only the first half of the lesson" answered her professor as she started to pack her papers and laptop into her suitcase, "you did good work today in class Sakura" finished Tsunade before grabbing her suitcase and turning to leave the classroom. Sakura followed behind her, bid her professor goodbye and both ladies went their separate ways.

Sakura headed towards the campus library, she planned on studying for a while before her next class started. Arriving at the library she secured a small table for herself. There she started to lay out her books, notes, and assignments. She was there for a good hour before she started to pack up and head for her next class.

The rest of the day went on as usual. It wasn't until she was on her way back to campus parking that she saw her best friend getting out of her car with her huge bag.

"Hey Ino" Sakura said as she walked up to her friend's car.

"Hey Sakura, just finish your last class?" asked her friend.

"Yeah, I'm headed home now" she answered.

"Ok, you're still going clubbing with us this Friday right?" asked the blonde.

"Hell yeah!" she answered back.

"I'll come over around nine to help you pick out something not cringe worthy" teased Ino.

A pout appeared on Sakura's face at her friends comment.

"My sense of style isn't that bad" she defended.

"It's not that bad when its normal clothes, but when it comes to partying you dress like a nun" Ino responded.

"Whatever, shouldn't you be getting to class now?" deflected Sakura.

"Shit! I gotta go! Bye Forehead!" shouted her best friend as she started making her way towards her class's building.

"See you Friday pig!" she shouted back.

Turning towards her car she unlocked the driver's door before moving her backpack to the empty passengers seat. Comfortably settled in her seat, she turned the ignition on and soon after turned the heat on. Then she pulled out of her parking spot and headed back home.  
_______

Unlocking the front door she stepped through to her cozy apartment. Sakura quickly closed the door behind her in order to preserve the warmth her home provided. Twisting the front door lock into place she then placed her home and car keys on the tall wooden table in the entryway that held an orchid.

Walking to the living room, she placed her backpack on the low table before heading towards her room. Once inside she glanced at her alarm clock which read five, and then immediately began taking off her boots, socks, pants, sweater, tee shirt and bra.

She made sure to put the boots back in their proper spot with the rest of her shoe collection; then placing her worn clothes in her laundry bin. Making her way towards her dresser, she opened the first drawer and pulled out a loose fitting wine red tee shirt and then pulled out her worn out gray drawstring shorts and a pair of fluffy socks. No need for a bra in her own home she started dressing.

Now in her living room wearing comfortable clothes Sakura began to take out her school books and place them on the low table. She sat there reading notes, doing homework, and reading ahead for a few hours before she heard her stomach growl. Startled by the sound made she looked up towards the wall clock, it read seven thirty.

Realizing that it was getting late and that she has yet to eat dinner. She stood up from her spot on the floor and stretched for a second before walking to the kitchen.

Looking through her pantry and refrigerator she was pleased to see that she had all the ingredients to make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It didn't take too long to prepare, and soon she was enjoying the warm meal.

Sakura was done eating at eight and decided to study for a while longer. It was nine thirty by the time she stopped studying and took a shower. Getting out of the shower she put on a matching pajama set that had cats as the pattern, brushed her teeth, and got ready for bed by putting away her school work.

Before calling it a night she made sure to have all her school assignments and materials ready in her backpack.

By the time she actually fell asleep it was ten.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Waking up to the sound of her alarm, Sakura checked the time which read eight fifteen. Today her first class started at nine.

She put on some skinny styled khaki pants, a white v-neck shirt, over that she put a black cardigan, and lastly a pair of flat black shoes.

She made herself a quick breakfast before grabbing her bag, keys, phone, and leaving the apartment.

The school day went on as usual. As did the rest of the week.

____

After her Friday class ended at one thirty, all she wanted to do was have the rest of her day to relax. However, that would have to wait until tomorrow because tonight Ino was coming over to doll her up to go clubbing. And that meant that she would have to organize her closet today or else her best friend would make a mess turning it upside down in order to find certain articles of clothes.

Which also meant that she should get her laundry clean now or she could potentially run into the problem of Ino looking through her dirty clothes in order to find the perfect bra for a dress. It’s happened before and she doesn't doubt that it won't happen again. And she'd rather save herself the embarrassment of someone digging through dirty panties and socks to find “the perfect strapless bra” again.

It was around nine when Ino knocked on her front door. Opening the door for her, Sakura was not surprised to see Ino already dressed for a night of dancing and impressing. She looked amazing as always, she had on skinny styled black high waisted jeans, and a gold sequined crop-top, paired with gold glittering high heels. Her blonde hair was tied in a messy bun with her bangs covering her right eye, and her smokey eye makeup drew attention to her clear blue eyes.

Without any prompting Ino headed towards Sakura's bedroom, and started going through her closet.

"Did you shave?" came Ino's muffled voice from her closet.

"Yeah," answered Sakura.

"Good, because I was thinking you should wear this" said Ino as she came out of the closet holding a red mid thigh body-con skirt.

"Why do I have to be stuck wearing a skirt when you get to wear pants?" complained Sakura.

"Because you have a great set of toned legs that you don't show off enough!" retorted her friend.

Sakura pouted at her friend's choice.

"Well then I want to wear a long sleeved shirt. I would feel too cold since I'm already wearing a skirt" said Sakura.

"I think we can come to a compromise on that" answered Ino.

Soon she pulled out a black long sleeved off the shoulder crop-top.

Sakura deadpanned after seeing the shirt.

"What part of showing too much skin, and being cold don't you understand?" asked Sakura.

"Oh come on Sakura, the club is going to have a lot of people that it won't be cold at all. And there will be so many other girls wearing less than you, no one will think anything of it!" reasoned Ino.

Sakura huffed and then gave up.

"Alright!" she complied, "but I get a say on my makeup" she stated firmly.

"Ok, ok now hurry up and change" answered Ino quickly as she pushed the articles of clothes towards Sakura.

"Oh and don't forget these" called Ino as she gave Sakura a nude colored strapless bra and lace red panties.

As Sakura was getting changed Ino picked a pair of nude pumps for Sakura to wear and set it aside.

After she was finished dressing she went to her vanity where Ino was already setting up her makeup for the night. Looking at herself in the mirror she was slightly uncomfortable with theslip of midriff exposed by wearing the crop top with the skirt.

Ino saw that Sakura was scrutinizing herself in the outfit, so she gave her opinion to dispel any ludicrous thoughts that were going through her best friend's head.

"Sakura you look great, really. Don't be bothered about showing some skin, you have a killer body so you don't have any reason to be self conscious" comforted her friend.

Hearing Ino confess that she shouldn’t be embarrassed had Sakura feeling more comfortable and confident.

Throughout the process of Ino doing her makeup they would get into short arguments about what was too much according to Sakura and what was too little in Ino's opinion. Because of that the makeup process took forever. But in the end both of them were pleased with the results of a soft smokey eye look and not too bright red lips.

Next they went into her bathroom and did her long hair in loose waves.

After that was finished the clock read ten thirty, so they touched up their outfits and Sakura got her shoes on before they headed towards her front door. Making sure that they both had everything they locked up and headed out.

_____

By the time they reached the club it was eleven fifteen and almost all their friends were already there. They were in a round booth against one of the walls. Sasuke and Naruto were already downing shots trying to outdo each other. Kiba was trying to convince Hinata to dance with him. Lee was on the dance floor by himself, and Shikamaru was talking to Choji who was eating.

Sitting down with the rest of the group, the two of them ordered their shots from a waitress before joining the conversation.

"Hey you guys finally made it!" yelled Naruto, who stopped taking shots to address his friends.

"It's about time" commented Shikamaru.

"Oh stop complaining and dance with me" said Ino before she drank a shot that was meant for Naruto and took Shikamaru's hand to lead him to the dance floor.

"There they go" quietly said Hinata.

"Hey Hinata" greeted Sakura, "have Tenten and Shino showed up yet?" she asked the group.

"Nah, they said they wouldn’t be able to make it tonight" answered Kiba.

The waitress made her way back to the group and dropped off Sakura and Ino’s shots. Sakura consumed her shot, and watched the mass of bodies dancing. She wasn't aware that Ino had come back to their booth, and soon she was being tugged up by her best friend.

"Come on! You need to dance and loosen up" stated Ino.

Relenting, Sakura got up and went to the dance floor with Ino. The music started to pick up and the two of them started to really get into the music. It wasn't long before Sakura was lost in the hot bodies of strangers, and hypnotized by the vibrating music and flashing lights that she hadn't noticed that Ino left to get another drink.

Still dancing to the beat of the music Sakura felt eyes on her so she turned around. To her surprise a very good looking man was staring at her intently. Sakura blushed and avoided eye contact with the man. She was not used to getting this kind of heated attention from men, turning around to tell Ino about the man, she finally noticed that she wasn’t there. Still flustered and now annoyed at her friend for ditching her Sakura made her way off the dance floor and headed back to her group of friends, confident that she’d find Ino there.

Halfway to the large booth where all her friends were she ran into Ino carrying two drinks.

“Where are you going?” asked Ino who had just left the bar and was making her way back towards the dance floor.

“I thought you went back to the table” said Sakura.

“I was getting us drinks” answered Ino motioning to the two glasses in her hands.

At the gesture Sakura took one from her.

“Thanks” mumbled Sakura.

“You should have just stayed on the dance floor, I would have come back” she claimed.

“I know, I just..there was this guy…” started Sakura.

“Who?” asked Ino excitedly. And she made a show of quickly turning around and looking closely at the men who were in the direction that Sakura came from.

“Describe him!” demanded Ino now facing her friend.

Sighing and taking a sip of her drink Sakura started, “Well I didn’t get a good look at him, but he was tall and had red hair and... I actually don’t remember much other than that” she finished lamely.

“Why’d you run away from him if he was obviously interested?” asked Ino.

Huffing at her friend’s behavior Sakura told Ino her issue with pursuing that man.

“There would be no reason to talk to him or follow his advances” spoke Sakura.

“And why’s that?” questioned Ino.

“Cause I’m not looking for a relationship” she answered.

“Oh come on Sakura! I already told you that the best way to get over a relationship is to get back out there!...I thought you were over Neji by now” spoke the blonde.

“I am!” insisted Sakura.

“Then prove it! Just because you’re not looking for a relationship doesn’t mean you can’t have fun” said Ino.

Having nothing to say after Ino’s comment Sakura took another sip of her drink in order to avoid answering.

Sighing at her friends bashful behavior she decided to drop the topic.

“Did you want to dance some more or head back to the table?” asked Ino.

“I was going to sit down for a while” said Sakura starting to go back to her friends with Ino following.

Both women seamlessly integrated back into the conversation their friends were having, and soon they finished their drinks and ordered more. It was somewhere in between Sakura’s third drink that she mentioned not being able to get too crazy because she has work the next day.

Her intention at stopping after her third drink didn’t go as planned because soon the group started talking about relationships and the future, and that was something that Sakura didn’t want to be sober around. Her discomfort was also intensified because Neji’s cousin Hinata was right across from her, and she knew the reason behind their breakup.

The reasoning behind her breakup with Neji still stung. Without thinking about the aftermath Sakura ordered another drink. At first she didn’t participate in the conversation and was leisurely taking sips of her beverage. However, after she had a few more drinks in her and the topic of parent’s approval was brought up Sakura couldn’t keep quiet.

“I don’t think parents should have the final decision of who their child can or can’t be with!” stated Sakura.

“I don’t think they should either, but since a lot of us have more traditional families with reputations it happens more often than not” said Shikamaru.

“Yeah, I’ve had my mom make me break up with a girlfriend because she said she’d never live with a dog!” commented Kiba.

“That’s absurd!” exclaimed Sakura.

“But is it really?” questioned Sasuke, “The Inuzuka are an old family that have the tradition of coexisting with dogs, family members are to have a dog companion for life. It makes sense that your mom would ask you to break up with your girlfriend, because she didn’t want you wasting time with someone who would never be accepted into the family as your wife” finished Sasuke.

“Whatever! I’m just saying I would never marry anyone who couldn’t say no to their parents!” stated Sakura.

She took another shot, and did not say another word about the topic. The night went on and Sakura was drunk by the end of it.

It was early three by the time Sakura made it back to her apartment. Thankfully Shikamaru drove her and Ino home since both of them were under the effects of alcohol and were unable to drive.

After locking up her door, and taking off her shoes Sakura headed straight for her bedroom all the while taking off all her clothes but her underwear.

Falling down on her bed and sighing into her pillows Sakura pulled her bed sheets over her body and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

The faint sound of her alarm was becoming more prominent, the louder the sound got the more her head pounded. Sakura groaned as she reached her arm over to where the beeping was coming from and turned off the alarm.

“Shit!” she swore as she got a glimpse at the time.

She is supposed to be at the hospital by eight and the clock read seven twenty.

Hastily getting ready Sakura put on her teal scrubs, shoes, grabbed her purse and ran out of her apartment.

———

Parking her car she checked the time, it read seven forty-five. She pulled down the car visor and opened the mirror to see how she looked. She hadn’t realized that her face still had last nights make-up and that her hair was a tangled mess.

“Holy shit, I look as bad as I feel” she said with a derisive chuckle.

Sakura really had no one else to blame other than herself, after all no one was forcing drinks down her throat. She knew she had work the next morning but had decided to get wasted.

Quickly opening the glove department of her car she pulled out the makeup removing wipes and hair brush she stashed for emergencies. Shoving the items into her purse she locked up and dashed into the building, heading for the nearest bathroom in order to fix her appearance.

———

Sakura was thankful that her shift today was just eight hours.

Work was exhausting and she came home at three thirty, having gone the entire day thus far with just a cup of coffee.

She was very tempted to order take-out and spend the rest of her day on the couch as a potato.

She debated the idea for a few more seconds before caving in and deciding that she would spend the rest of her day relaxing at home. And made the resolution that tomorrow she would complete the rest of her homework and study because finals were right around the corner.

Not even bothering to change out of her scrubs Sakura plopped down on her couch and ordered pizza, she then turned on the living room television and forgot about the outside world until she heard a knock on her door. She quickly went to the entrance, grabbed the money she left on the foyer table, and answered the door.

Sakura smiles at the pizza delivery guy, hands him cash and tells him to keep the change. Her order secure in her hand she thanks him before closing the door.

———

Sakura’s time was typically divided between school, work, friends, and the occasional casino trip. However, now that finals were just a few days away she was spending all her free time studying. She and her friends usually go out every other week, but since everyone had exams coming up they made the decision to go out and celebrate after finals were over.

Sakura has been anticipating the end of the semester for weeks now. She’s excited to complete her last final and to be done with medical school, so she could enjoy the events to follow. She’s especially looking forward to enjoying her vacation before having to start her apprenticeship at Tsunade’s hospital.

The last day of finals fell on a Friday. The plan agreed upon by their friends was to meet at the club Friday night since they would all be done with their exams by then.

————

He was leaning casually on one of the far walls, hidden in shadows.

His eyes sluggishly scanned through the crowd of bodies in the center of the room. Taking his phone out of his pants pocket and turning it on, he read the time as twelve.

After tucking it in his pocket, no sooner did two women walk through the club doors.

The first one he spotted was a blonde with long hair styled in loose waves. She was wearing an all black outfit that consisted of a backless deep v-neck spaghetti string bodysuit which showed ample cleavage, and a high waisted cross front mini skirt. Her ensemble hugged her full figure, and her lace-up heeled shoes had the loose strings wrapped around till mid calf.

The blonde’s friend had her long pink hair in loose waves and styled half up half down. She had on a long sleeve black sheer mesh top, underneath the transparent shirt her black bra was visible, and so was her cleavage. The shirt was tucked into a high waisted blush pink body con mini skirt. On her feet she wore nude round toe playdate heels, which made her legs look impossibly long.

Watching them walk next to each other it was simple to see that they were both beautiful. The blonde exuded sensuality while the pinkette radiated playful innocence. If the former was the personification of sin, then the latter was virtue.

They were headed towards the back of the club with confident steps, he looked ahead to where they were going and saw a large group that was situated in a booth.

———

As they were approaching the large booth, Sakura did a quick head count of the group and realized that Neji was the only one missing. Even Sai who’s fairly new to their group was present.

It’s hard to believe that they met Sai here at the club a while ago, and that he’s already become a regular face in their group of friends.

He had come out of nowhere and started hitting on Ino with the corniest pick up lines, she was offended but flattered at the same time. She turned him down to the date, but had invited him to hang out with the group the next time they were to meet at the club.

Everyone had initially not trusted Sai and his blunt nature, but he quickly grew on everyone and even provided comic relief when he and Naruto argued.

It’s too bad Neji’s not here, and that he has to follow everything his parents tell him to do. They had told him to stop seeing her. He had gone so far as to stop hanging out with their group of friends because Sakura would regularly come to the gatherings. She knows that his actions had not only hurt her but also their friends.

Done reminiscing Sakura took in the group of friends, and noticed that everyone had a drink in front of them already. Both she and Ino sat down, and greetings were exchanged.

Soon a waiter came to take more drink orders. Conversation flowed through the group.

“I’m so glad that I’m done with my final semester” said Sakura.

“Yeah now we can responsibly drink ourselves stupid” supplied Ino.

“I’m nervous about my final grade in marketing management” said Naruto.

“Same here man, one of my grade’s are on the border of an B- and a B” commented Kiba.

“I’m sure both your grades are fine” reassured Hinata.

Their drink orders were dropped off at the table and the group continued talking for a while before the girls left to go dancing. Some of the guys like Lee and Kiba joined while the others stayed back. This pattern continued well into the night until some of their friends had decided to head out.

The first to leave were Hinata and Shino, Hinata had a curfew and Shino had offered to drive her home since he only had one drink. Sasuke stated that he had work early the next morning and was the next one to leave. Shikamaru and Choji said that their parents needed them to help the next day so they left a little after Sasuke.

Those who stayed were sitting at the booth drinking and talking. At this point everyone was intoxicated, some more than others. Sakura had been listening to the conversation go from vacation plans to future marriage plans.

“I can’t believe Neji is the first one of us to get engaged,” spoke Tenten a little sluggishly.

At first in her buzzed state Sakura thought she misheard, but the words of surprise, acknowledgment, and happiness from her friends had her pause midway from bringing her glass to her lips and set it back down.

Looking closely at her group of friends she saw the emotions play out on their faces. Even with bad lighting Lee and Naruto had looks of unbridled joy, there was brief look of jealousy from Kiba, disapproval was read on the face of her best friend Ino, Sai looked confused but covered it up a second later with interest and started asking questions about who this Neji guy is.

Sakura couldn’t look at anyones face anymore and instead looked down at the table. All she felt at that moment was displeasure and the rush of her blood circulating through her body. She hadn’t even noticed that her hand was gripping her glass so tight that her knuckles were white.

She had to get out of there, she had to move.

Quietly Sakura left her friends and made her way towards the bathroom. Ino saw her leave unnoticed and followed. She knew that the pinkette wasn’t completely over Neji no matter how hard she insisted she was. Ino was told the story of how Neji dumped Sakura because of his parents’ wishes, and she knew that the news of his engagement hurt her friend.

———

Once inside the bathroom Sakura headed strait for the nearest empty stall, closing the door and locking it she slumped against the door and couldn’t do anything other then stare up at the ceiling. Her mind was running hundreds of thoughts through her head. She hadn’t registered that someone was knocking on her stall door until she heard her name being called.

“Sakura, I know you’re in there” said Ino.

“What do you want,” asked Sakura dejectedly.

“Can you open the door and let me in,” the blonde asked.

After a second Sakura decided to open the stall door for her friend.

“Thank goodness you picked the largest stall, or else it would be cramped” commented Ino as she closed the door.

“Are you okay” asked Ino, going to Sakura’s side and placing a hand on her best friends shoulder.

“I thought I was over him Ino, but the news of his engagement affected me more than I thought it would” answered Sakura.

“Do you want to talk about it, “ asked the blonde.

After a slight pause she started, “I’m upset at how I reacted to the news of his engagement. I really believed enough time had passed that my feelings, towards his blindsided breakup, had faded,” said Sakura.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura processed her realization.

“Listen Sakura you are amazing and if Neji can’t see that you’re worth fighting for then it’s his loss, someone else is going to notice what a godsend you are,” said Ino with honesty.

The pinkette stared at her best friend for a long second and then hugged her tight.

“Thank you for checking on me. I’m feeling better now, we should go back to the booth” said Sakura, “it’s getting pretty late” she finished.

“Yeah let's head back,” said the blonde as they got out of the stall, and left the restroom.

When they got to the table the only one’s left were Sai and Naruto. Naruto was very intoxicated and looked to be falling asleep. Sai on the other hand didn’t drink much that night and looked perfectly fine.

“We should call it a night guys,” said Ino.

“I’ll make sure Naruto gets home safe” said Sai as he started to stand and pull the blond male up with him. He took one of Naruto’s arms and moved it around his neck, and began to head for the entrance of the club. The girls followed behind them.

Once outside they all said their farewells, and went their separate ways.

———

Sakura had seven days with no obligations.

She had officially finished her last semester at medical school a week ago, and walked the graduation stage two days ago.

She had left one hospital job for another because she was accepted into Tsunade’s apprentice program, and her new job would start in a week.

She told her friends that she needed a solo vacation and that she would be out of town.

Sakura spent that week cleaning out casinos. She was taking flights from state to state, visiting big casinos and small hole in the wall establishments.

Her motto when stepping into any kind of gambling environment is ‘better safe than sorry’. She never gets too greedy, raises suspicion on her character, or becomes reckless.

If she plans to visit a business regularly like she does in her home town, then she wore disguises.

The plan was to make as much money as she could, so she could comfortably focus all her attention on her apprenticeship.

Her trip was a success, by the end of it she was two hundred thousand dollars richer.

———

Sakura was in her second month as Tsunade’s apprentice and had developed a relatively fixed schedule. She would work eighty hours a week, generally be given one or two days off which commonly would be Tuesday’s and or Friday's.

About once every two weeks all their friends would want to hang out together, whether that be at a club, out to eat, or some other activity.

And on a semi-regular basis after her shifts at the hospital Sakura would order delivery and stay home. She only really ever leaves her apartment to go to work, the store, or the gym.

———

Sakura had just finished a sixteen hour shift and was exhausted. She surprisingly was given Monday and Tuesday off, and was thrilled to spend those next two days hibernating.

“Bye Anzu,” said Sakura to the lobby receptionist, and headed out.

While walking to her car she ordered delivery.

Now in her car she checked the time. It was six in the afternoon and the estimated time for delivery was around forty minutes, which meant that she had plenty of time to make it home.

Sakura sped and made it to her apartment in twenty minutes.

She desperately wanted to take a shower.

Upon entering her apartment she set her things down by the door and went straight into her bathroom. She stripped out of her scrubs and took a hot shower that heated her sore muscles.

Finished washing up, she wrapped a towel around her body and went into her bedroom.

Exiting her room she was sporting black drawstring joggers an oversized burgundy t-shirt, and her long wet pink hair was air drying.

Grabbing her phone from where she left it on the foyer table she checked the time, it read six thirty-five. The pizza guy should be arriving any minute.

She was in her kitchen drinking water when her doorbell rang.

Briskly walking to the entrance of her home she opened the door, and was caught off guard at the similarities the pizza guy had to her best friend Ino.

The guy in front of her had long blond hair and striking blue eyes. However, after the surprise wore off she noticed features where they were also very different.

This guy had skin that was more sun kissed then her friend, his eyes were a deeper shade of blue, and his hair was more golden blond than champagne blond. Not to mention that he was a lot taller than her friend.

He was staring at her expectantly, and she realized that she was just standing in her doorway and she hadn’t grabbed the cash from her purse.

“Excuse me” said Sakura as she turned away from him, reached down to where she left her purse, and took out enough cash to cover the pizza plus tip.

“Thank you, keep the change” she said as the pizza and cash traded hands.

After closing and locking her front door, she made her way to the kitchen to start eating.

Halfway done with her pizza she started feeling drowsy. Figuring that it must be fatigue from her long shift she went to her living room couch and laid down.

Ten minutes later she was out like a light.

It was about an hour after she was knocked out that her front door was being unlocked. And two sets of foot steps entered the apartment.

“Hey my man, how long until the drug wears off,” asked one of the intruders.

“We’ve got time. She’ll be out for several hours” answered his partner, “but let’s start going, you know I hate to keep people waiting” he finished.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am transferring my story from Fanfic onto this platform and I will continue with updates here.


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